Hindemith and the Bassoon

Composer Paul Hindemith was an expert violist, but could coax sounds out of many instruments.

His wife at the piano in the photo above looks to be in pain! Has she banished his practicing of the flugelhorn to the bedroom?

One could argue about his bassoon embouchure as seen in the photo above, but I've heard that he actually could play his Sonate for Bassoon.

In fact, Hindemith had a long association with the Heckel firm. In order to help promote the Heckelphone, he wrote a Trio for Heckelphone, Viola and Piano. Legend has it that he received a Heckel Bassoon as his commission. Bret Pimentel, in his blog, however, states that Hindemith became familiar with the Heckelphone when visiting the factory to pick up his bassoon, so I guess the idea that his bassoon was a gift is not true.

Below is a photo of the trio personnel along with the Heckel family. This photo is taken from "Wilhelm Heckel, Six Generations Dedicated to Music", by Edith Reiter.

Hindemith remained in close touch with the Heckel family even after leaving Germany for the US. As a faculty member at Yale, he helped bassoon students there order bassoons from Heckel. The most famous example would be Paul Tucci, who later went on to become Principal Bassoonist of the Houston Symphony. Hindemith provided a letter of introduction for him to Heckel. Tucci became the proud owner of one of the finest 9000 series instruments, which he played in the Houston Symphony.

The three photos above came from a friend, pianist Jim Howsmon, who recently recorded the Bassoon Sonate with George Sakakeeny. It will be available soon on Oberlin Conservatory's record label. Jim sent me this article about Hindemith's Sonatas.

Interlochen trip

Earlier this week I made a trip to the Interlochen Arts Camp for a master class. My host, Eric Stomberg succeeded me as teacher there in 2001. He has maintained a talented and successful class since then.

My trips to Interlochen after I stopped teaching there have been nostalgic. I can draw upon my memories there as a camper and faculty member of the summer camp as well as the Academy.

I enjoyed working with his students and hearing them play. Interlochen attracts a special kind of student. Along with their talent, they are hungry to learn more about the bassoon and music, eager to be around others who share their enthusiasm.

On the day of my class I had the morning free, so I ran on the Leelanau Trail. It stretches from Traverse City up the west side of Grand Traverse Bay to Sutton's Bay.  It's an old rail line.

Reed tools for sale!

I'm listing some reed tools for sale on eBay. These were tools I've acquired from former students. Most are gently used.  Sorry, no international shipping!

There is also a Pfeifer single barrel profiler.

Listing will expire in 30 days.

Spiral reamer

 

Rieger reamer

Mandrel set

Scoring tool

Balance hanger

Prestini reed knife

Albion reed knife

The Best Cane in Japan

My wife is an amateur microscopist and subscribes to Microscopy Today. In this month's issue there is an article about research done on Phragmites australis, cane that grows naturally in Japan that has been used for centuries to make reeds for the Hichiriki, a double reed instrument.

Using the input from a player of the Hichiriki, the researchers found that the best cane came from the banks of the Udono river in Japan. Other sources yielded cane with less desirable qualities for the player. Cane from this particular site has been harvested and made into reeds for over 1200 years!

The researchers took microscopic samples of cane from various sources, including the Udono and conducted analysis.

The results showed the cane from the Udono had the most consistent internal structure and a shell thickness of 1mm.

There is much to be learned from this research for the maker of reeds from Arundo donax, and, indeed, research on Arundo donax is cited in the article.

Here is a link to a pdf of the article. (Scroll down the table of contents to find the pdf link).

An Unusual Day

I had a most unusual day last Thursday.

In the morning and early afternoon, I helped a friend dismantle his 900 lb milling machine so it could be loaded out of his basement prior to his move to Atlanta this week.

Although the milling machine sits on a dolly, it was too wide and much too heavy to be rolled out of the basement. Like a ship in a bottle. So we had to take it apart.

In order to lift the top part off the base, we threaded a winch cable through a pulley attached to a ceiling joist by a large bolt. With a rope tied to the top part of the milling machine we hooked the winch cable to the rope. The winch was then attached to a another rope around a support pole in the basement floor.

Later, the machine parts were strapped to another dolly and rolled out of the basement on a ramp.

Later that afternoon, I enjoyed coaching a student group at CIM in the Beethoven Septet. 

That evening was Maundy Thursday. I was asked to play for many parts of the service. I performed with the choirs and played solos accompanied by piano and also by organ. I couldn't help but wonder what a visitor to the church that night might have thought about such extensive use of an exotic woodwind instrument in the service!

2 Weeks in Milwaukee

I've spent the past two weeks playing with the Milwaukee Symphony. The first week's program consisted of Brahms' Haydn Variations, the Chaconne from John Corigliano's score to the movie, "The Red Violin" and Dvorak's 7th Symphony. Joshua Weilerstein conducted and MSO concertmaster, Frank Almond performed the violin solo on the Corigliano.

In between weeks there I had a few days off, so I traveled to Illinois to visit my parents and celebrate my father's 83rd birthday. It was a restful and enjoyable couple of days. I went for two nice runs on the Jane Addams Trail.

Back in Milwaukee, our next week of concerts featured four colorful pieces:  Ravel Mother Goose Suite, Falla's Nights in the Gardens of Spain with Ingrid Fliter as piano soloist, Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture and Debussy's La Mer.

Section for La Mer: Rudi Heinrich, myself, Joshua Fleming and Beth Giacobassi

Our conductor for this week was the fine, but quirky Jun Märkl.

During the week, Beth invited me to give a class for her students at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

I enjoyed a couple of long runs on the Oak Leaf Trail and visited the Colectivo Coffee Bar in a re-purposed pump house right on Lake Michigan. My guest there was former MSO piccolo player and former Clevelander, Judy Ormond.

I also met Rudi for coffee at the Anodyne Coffee Bar located in the Bay View neighboorhood.

Rite of Spring practice method

Here's a great method for learning the opening to Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. It's great whether you're learning it for the first time or just brushing it up for an audition or performance.

Some preliminary comments:

• The opening has no crescendo from the first C to the grace notes and B, but most people play one. Because there's no crescendo printed in the music, this gesture should be subtle and carefully measured. Think of the sound of the held C energizing and opening up until the B is inevitable. 
• The beginning of the piece is not loud. I prefer to think of it as haunting and distant. Like a trip back in time. So no loud or abrupt sounds.
• The progression from C - B - A forms the "skeleton" of the opening section in the first bassoon part. Tension should increase on the C through the B and then relax to the A. In spite of this being a famously modern piece, the opening phrases are really just old-fashioned, classical period arch phrases!!
• Opening C -- my fingering:

       Eb
x 1/2 o /xxoF
d           Bb

Using the high d key and covering just 1/2 or less of the second tone hole in the left hand allows for a quiet, controlled start that is in tune. You can grasp the reed more firmly and not go sharp because of the half hole. Remove the half hole immediately after starting. Some players combine this with a breath attack for an even softer start.

I've written this out by hand for my CIM students for years, never quite sure if they could read my poor handwriting! Now, thanks to my friend, Rich Shanklin, I've got a file of it and can just hand it out. 

You may find using a different order in each series is more helpful (series 1, exercises 1, 2, 4, 3, 5 and series 2, exercises 1, 3, 2, 4 for instance) but this is how I use it.